The Weld District Attorney’s Office has until 3:30 p.m. Dec. 20 to file charges against Gary Goodwin. Steven Hanson is scheduled to appear in court 8:30 a.m. Jan. 5.

After two and a half months of investigation, the Weld County Drug Task Force on Friday shut down a 379-plant Keenesburg marijuana grow and confiscated about 70 pounds of the drug, as well as 12 pounds of marijuana edibles.

According to affidavits for their arrest, police believe Gary Goodwin Jr., 39, and Steven Hanson, 57, were operating an illegal marijuana grow out of Goodwin's 8,000-square-foot garage at 26490 Weld County Road 16.

The task force began investigating Goodwin in late September. A source of information told police they had seen over 400 marijuana plants on the property, which is owned by Goodwin and his wife, Michelle Goodwin, according to the affidavits.

When police went to the property, they could see about 40 marijuana plants growing outside, which is more than is allowed under Colorado law. They also saw a massive metal garage at the address with its windows covered. This is a common practice among marijuana growers, the affidavit said, to control how much light the plants receive.

Police then began investigating the Goodwins themselves.

According to the report, neither Gary nor Michelle had filed state wages since the third quarter of 2013, meaning they hadn't worked for an employer that would pay employee state income taxes for three years. In 2015, the return stated Gary had earned $20,844 in wages for that year, according to the report. The couple reported $38,664 in revenue for the same year, $30,000 of which was labeled only as "shop rent," for an unspecified location in Keenesburg, with no further explanation.

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Yet when police looked at the couple's electricity bill, they estimated the Goodwins were spending about $17,200 a year on power alone, the affidavit said. In addition, the Goodwins' Facebook profiles had pictures and statuses about the two attending Denver Broncos games, out-of-state motocross events, and, most recently, a vacation to Australia. The report said the Goodwins' lifestyle was "inconsistent" with their 2015 reported income.

A Weld District Court judge on Dec. 1 signed a search warrant for the Keenesburg property. On Friday, the Weld County Drug Task Force, along with the Greeley SWAT team and the Greeley Special Enforcement Team, raided the metal garage, where they found the marijuana plants, as well as the dried and packaged marijuana. They also found multiple prepackaged bags of marijuana in a locked safe.

When police went upstairs in the garage, they found several books on growing marijuana, as well as $1,200 in cash, according to the report. They also found what they believed to be a "finishing room" for packaging the plants, which included a drying rack, boxes of pressurized seal bags, and a money counting machine.

In addition to the marijuana, police discovered a safe with 17 firearms and a large amount of ammunition, the report said.

Gary Goodwin and Hanson were there, as well. Goodwin didn't have a medical marijuana card, but he told police the marijuana belonged to Hanson. Hanson told police the marijuana belonged to Goodwin. Both were arrested on suspicion of drug felonies, while Goodwin also was arrested on suspicion of money laundering and possessing a firearm by a previous offender.

Goodwin's criminal recorded included convictions for felony eluding in 1996; and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in 1999 in South Dakota; and criminal mischief in 2003; and second-degree burglary in 2004.

What’s next

The Weld District Attorney’s Office has until 3:30 p.m. Dec. 20 to file charges against Gary Goodwin. Steven Hanson is scheduled to appear in court 8:30 a.m. Jan. 5.